Loner
by leafs nation
Summary: Jane had next to nothing in her life going for her, except for Jaime. They had always balanced each other out - quiet, and outgoing. Cautious and adventurous. Introverted and extroverted. They kept each other from hurtling over the edge. But what happens when that balance starts to shift? How was Jane to know that this story was doomed from the start?
1. Plumber

" _Fixing a Toilet for Dummies,_ " I sigh audibly, shoulders slumped as I pull up the page on my laptop and glare at the wretched bathroom utensil with disdain. "Well," I mutter, wrench in hand as I start to read through the wall of text, "might as well get this over with."

Let me just say right off the bat that this is not – _definitely_ not – how I pictured my Saturday evening would be spent. In fact, just for irony's sake alone, this actually was supposed to be one of the few times that I'd get out and actually… you know, _interact_ with people for a change. Like, socially.

Definitely hadn't expected the toilet to start completely overflowing at seven forty-five this evening, abruptly cancelling my plans that I had so very carefully and responsibly made at the very last minute. It kind of puts a damper on things when a portion of your main floor, including the carpet, smells like toilet bowl water. No, I'm definitely not going out tonight. This has completely killed my mood.

I can't afford to hire a plumber for this kind of thing, not on my measly salary. Hell, I'm practically living from paycheck to paycheck as it is right now, and the landlord for the apartment I'm staying in basically threatened to kick me to the curb if I was late on my rent for another week. He's a real dick about cleanliness, too, that son of a bitch, and would no doubt tell me that it was somehow my fault for the damn thing busting out like a leaky faucet. Why can't he just act like a real human being and fix the stupid place instead of blackmailing anyone who lives here? God!

 _Sigh…_ I suppose it can't really be helped though, can it? This is one of the few areas in DC that's not terribly overpriced, and also doesn't have a reputation for being a downtrodden cesspool of gang violence, murders and sexual assaults. How fun. I'll take what I can get, at least until I can find somewhere else to move to.

So basically, Jane here is about to get her hands dirty… not in that way, you pervs.

Sticking my tongue to the inside of my cheek as I usually do when I'm concentrating, I try to follow along with what the guide's telling me as I peer into the back. Urgh… this doesn't look too good, and that's coming from someone without a professionally-trained eye for these sorts of things. The water's practically at the brim, and one wrong move might have it splurging back onto the floor.

"Come on there, fella," I coax it, feeling incredibly stupid as I try to reach in behind and adjust one of the bolts with my trusty wrench. "Easy does it now… easy does it…"

 _SPLASH!_

"SHIT!"

Scrambling to fix my mistake proves to be useless as the damage is unleashed – nearly a gallon of water explodes from the apparent leak in one of the wall pipes as it soaks me to the skin with some of the dirtiest, most disgusting liquid I've ever come across, not to mention what it does to the drywall. Ditching the wrench entirely, I crawl on my knees and pounce onto my stomach over towards the door; flailing my limbs out like a starfish as I desperately try to keep it from pouring out into the main hall.

The only hope of salvation that I have comes about two or three minutes later, coincidentally being the very person I neglected to hang out with as I see her slowly walk through my front door.

"Jaime!" I holler, knowing that it's her based solely on the perfume she's wearing and the fact that she's the only person (other than the landlord, of course) that I had actually given a pair of keys to for my apartment. "Quick! Turn off the water valve! It's underneath the sink!"

"What the hell are you doing down there?"

"Just do it, for fuck's sakes!"

"Okay, okay! Not even bothering with a _hello_ anymore…" she mutters under her breath, moving more slowly than I'd like into the kitchen as she sets down her purse on a chair and disappears from my sight; coming back a few seconds later after having turned off the valve I mentioned. Stifling back some laughs, my sister lets a few snorts pass through her lips as I gradually rise to my feet. "Umm… wow. I think I kind of get now why you weren't answering my calls."

Thankful now more than ever for my short hair, I walk over towards the linen closet and pull out a fresh towel; my feet making these disgusting squishy noises as I give my body a shake like a dog. "Yeah," I reply sourly before running the fabric over my head a few times. "Been dealing with more than my fair share of BS tonight. So… sorry, I guess."

"You? Apologizing? Who are you and what have you done with Jane?" she teases as I walk up beside her and abruptly give her a nice, big hug – one that she instantly despises as I make a point of it to get her drenched as well. "Bleh! Quit it! Jane, stop!" she whines as I chuckle, letting go and allowing her to punch my arm. Yeah, I probably deserved that one.

If anyone had caught me trying to go out and have fun with my sister back about five years ago or so, I probably would've died from embarrassment. I didn't wanna get caught dead with my _stupid, younger sibling_ – I did have a bit of a reputation to maintain amongst the small crowd of idiots and posers that I had used to call friends, after all. I didn't want some little kid following me around, biting at my heels like a lost, little puppy. It was just so… _uncool_ at the time.

Now though? Well, I can't say that it's still not a little weird, due to the significant age gap between us, but I actually consider Jaime to be one of my closest if not _the closest_ friend I have, aside from a few exceptions who I don't see very often anymore. To her, it didn't matter that I would get into trouble in school, or occasionally find the time to shoplift when the store owners weren't looking, or just generally would end up becoming an introverted, annoyed young woman who had left the family far too soon. She, despite all my faults, has stuck by me through thick and thin, and I'm more grateful for that than I care to admit.

It's probably best that keep that information silent. Wouldn't want her ego to inflate now would we?

"I can't believe you're living like this," Jaime comments after a prolonged silence settles in between us, causing me to frown slightly in indignation. She thinks I'm a total slob! "When's the last time you've even seen the sunlight, Jane? I mean, look at this place! I could barely even get through to that sink from all the stuff you've got in there!"

"Hey, come on, cut me some slack here! It's not that… bad…" I cut myself off, sheepishly turning around to examine the total destruction that's befallen my one bedroom apartment. It literally looks like a hurricane swept in and tore this place apart, what with the chairs, clothes, boxes and all sorts of dishes scattered along in a messy fashion. And now with the huge puddle (more like a lake) sitting there on the bathroom floor as well, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody ended up sending in a rescue party to search for survivors trapped in here. "I'm still trying to unpack things," I tell her hastily, hoping that that'll somehow win her over.

And of course, it doesn't. Not even by a tiny margin. Jaime just stares at me as if I've lost my mind before rolling her eyes and beckoning for me to follow her out the door.

"Come on, we've already wasted enough time just sitting here," she mentions, turning her head back when she notices that I'm not following along. "Well? What are you waiting for? C'mon, let's go have some fun!"

"Jaime, my apartment's underwater! I can't just leave it drenched like this!" I argue, groaning when she simply chucks one of the paper towel rolls I had left near the front door over towards me. "Besides," I continue, sniffing my shirt and crinkling my nose up in disgust, "I smell like ass right now – literally! I'm covered in toilet water! I need a shower first!"

"Just hurry up and change into something else then! I'll spray you with some of my perfume, too, don't worry," she mentions, with me finding it weird how this time _she's_ the one being bossy this time around. I don't think it really suits her.

"Where were you even planning on going anyways?" I ask from around the corner before tossing the roll back to her, begrudgingly going along with her plan as I pull out the first outfit that I see – a black t-shirt with some blue jeans and a pair of worn, leather boots. Oh, and I probably shouldn't forget the jacket this time around… God knows my sister'll be pestering me about not keeping warm late at night.

"…"

"Huh?" I holler out into the hallway, unable to hear her mumbling.

"…the Lucky Leprechaun…"

"Jaime," I sigh, sliding my jacket over my shoulders and meeting her back out in the hallway, "no."

"But Jane I – "

"What would Mom and Dad say if they found out you tried to sneak into a club somewhere downtown? And with me, no less?"

Feigning annoyance as she sees me glancing at the hasty paper towel-job that she's put on display, Jaime folds her arms across her chest and sticks her tongue out at me. "Since when have you ever cared what they think?" she probes, immediately regretting her choice of words as I stare back at her with a vacant expression. "Hey… look, I'm sorry… I didn't mean…"

I know that I'm going to have to mop this all up later, and that my apartment's probably going to smell horribly if I don't air it out, so I don't really acknowledge her comment before turning back around and heading for the nearest open window. Opening it up to let the cool breeze flow through, I grab my set of keys off the kitchen table and open the front door.

"Let's just go," I murmur, suddenly feeling the urge to be anywhere but here. "I have no idea why you like these places so much… Nothing but crappy music and overpriced beer."

Zipping up my jacket and shutting the door behind me, I nearly gag at the overbearing scent of Jaime's perfume as she sprays me with it several times in a row. Ugh… worst Saturday ever.

…

Walking along the streets of downtown DC at night with just the two of us, heading towards a night club that even I'm just barely old enough to enter… I've got to be either the worst role model in the world, or have possibly just won the award for being the most fun sister of all time. I'm thinking it's the former, though, but it'd be a waste to just turn back now without at least getting a few drinks in me. After nearly having a heart attack trying to fix that stupid toilet, a little (or a lot, depending on how I'm feeling) of alcohol wouldn't be uncalled for, I think. I can at least take solace in knowing that my laptop didn't get fried from being up on the bathroom counter.

The only problem I've got in the immediate foreseeable future tonight, would be Jaime.

"How exactly are you even going to get into this place, anyways?" I wonder aloud as we start to approach the club. Just a few blocks away now. "You're only seventeen, and I know for a fact that they're strict around here about who gets to go inside."

Lifting up a finger before diving her hand into her purse, Jaime grins mischievously as she proudly presents her crowning jewel: a fake ID, probably given to her in return for some kind of favour. "I never leave home without it anymore," she acknowledges as I curiously snatch the card away from her. "Give me some credit – if I had planned out how to get to your place with the crazy bus system that you guys have all the way out here, then I'd have no problem figuring out how to get inside a nightclub."

"Jaime," I laugh, shaking my head as I study the driver's license, "first off, you don't look like you're twenty-five. Second, you're not Hispanic, and you definitely don't have boobs like this person does."

Ow… definitely earned the smack in the back of the head on that one.

"Just so you know, my self-esteem is going down the tubes as we speak," she mocks, faking tears as she leans her head on my shoulder; with me having to lead the two of us down some more narrow paths until we can finally see our destination just a little ways away. I'll admit – as irritating as she might be sometimes, she does have a pretty decent sense of humour about most things. Jaime's pretty easy-going, and doesn't tend to let many things get under her skin. Which is probably a good thing, now that I think about it… I've been lacking in the sister department over the years, despite my recent efforts to mend that.

If you haven't noticed by now, I kind of suck at the whole "bonding" thing. I'm not the kind of girl that you can just randomly walk up to on the street and strike up a conversation with – I'd probably try to avoid those unnecessary confrontations altogether, honestly. I especially don't like it when people try to get too close to me when I want to distance myself from them, which has also been occurring more frequently than I care to admit. Basically, I'm not much of a people person, and Jaime's been on the brunt end of that more than once.

 _Why won't you play with me?_

 _Jane, can you teach me how to ride a bike? Pretty please? You're so good at it!_

 _Let's make up a band, Jane! We can be super-famous rock stars!_

 _But… but I don't want you to be alone…_

"Jane?" she waves her hand in front of me as I'm snapped out of my reverie. "Look alive, would ya? We've gotta wait in line."

Sure enough, we've nearly hit the brick wall of the building as I give my head a quick shake and turn to see what we're dealing with here. Jesus, it's as if everyone and their mother had the same idea! At this rate, it'll take us ages to get inside. As much as I'd like to just scrap the idea of a club altogether and just try to find a store around that sells cheap beer by the box, I know that Jaime's been looking forward to spending some time with me for a few weeks now, and judging by the dismayed look on her face, it also looks as though she'd had this venture on her mind for quite some time, too.

Who am I to try and take that first experience away from her? It'd be kind of hypocritical of me to do so, with all the shit that I used to get into at her age. Maybe Jaime really _is_ trying to take after me in some ways after all… that longing for independence…

"Just follow my lead," I tell her as we approach the front of the line; no doubt pissing off most of the crowd as I approach the bouncer. "Listen, my sister really has to use the bathroom right now… would you mind letting us pass?"

"Sorry, no can do. You're gonna have to wait in line like everyone else."

"But the nearest washroom is like six blocks away! I really don't think she can hold it in for much – "

" _Cough-cough! Cough-cough-cough-cough!"_ Jaime interrupts, finding it hard to breathe as the bouncer widens his eyes. She's got him right where we want as he begrudgingly lets us inside, pointing in the direction of the nearest washroom so that she can… ahem… _take care of that cough_ before heading back outside. You know, as if we were actually gonna do something like that.

"Quick thinking there," I praise, surprised at her behaviour even though she insists that she's actually got a pretty bad cough going on right now.

Waiting for her outside the washroom, I chuckle as I hear some of the other patrons outside trying to come up with the same excuse as I did. Sometimes it pays to have a silver tongue like me.

" _This is a breaking news story,"_ raves the television hung high in the corner of the lobby, having to use subtitles because of the blaring music coming from inside the dance hall. _"Los Angeles police are struggling to contain the riots going on throughout the city, which officials have reported to have cost the lives of dozens thus far. Some have even claimed that a deadly virus strain is to blame for the deaths, but many are left unconvinced…"_

"They need to get their shit together," I mutter, sighing as Jaime returns a few minutes later after freshening up. "Well… let's get this over with, then."

"Just try not to embarrass me or anything," she jokes, winking at me and taking me by the hand as we head deeper inside. "This is gonna be awesome!"

I can already tell just by taking two steps inside that it won't be.

….

This club smells like a mixture of body odour, sweat and booze. All this close contact and rubbing up against each other… ugh. Anybody else feel grossly uncomfortable, or is it just me? This whole thing feels off, and I don't like it at all. This really isn't my scene. I'd so much rather we'd have done something else… anything at all, as opposed to this.

But I really don't know what's more surprising – the fact that it's been two hours and I have yet to come barreling over to Jaime to drag the both of us out of here, or that I haven't fallen asleep from the four beers that I've ingested over the course of my stay. You can probably take a guess at how much fun I'm having right now.

I have no idea where Jaime wandered off to. Normally, I probably wouldn't really be bothered by it, as she's almost always the chattier of the two of us and would probably end up trying to chase after some boy her age. But here? Out in a beer-crazed club with a bunch of sleazeballs? Yeah, I'm feeling a little paranoid right now, but there's nothing I can really do. I had told her that I'd just be chilling over here by the tables while she went out and did her thing, which kind of disappointed her, but that's not the point. If I were to leave to go find her now, and she were to come back and not see me around, then we'd both be in trouble.

Resorting instead to just scoping out for her from my seat, I frown as I end up spotting the little vixen not too far away; not really liking the crowd she's gotten herself mixed up in, but not really wanting to intrude on her space. Jaime's smart enough to know when to get out of tight spots… I hope.

In the meantime, I call on the bartender to hand me another round of Budweiser as I pay the man in exchange for the cold bottle. Even he seems to share my pain of wanting to be anywhere else, as the music and overall atmosphere is just the both of us inside and (at least for me) wrecking the eardrums.

"Thanks," I curtly nod as I take a swig, thinking briefly back to that one night when I still lived with my parents. I had been so stupid to try it, and even dumber to continue drinking that fucking bottle of Earthquake, but I was young – naturally, I wanted to try my hand at all the things my parents had warned me against. And the rum had been so tasty, too…

Was it worth getting kicked out of the house over? No, of course not, but I'm still bitter over the whole thing, even after nearly ten years. That's the one thing I've never forgotten, and probably never will. That nagging at the back of my mind reminding me that I'll never truly live with my sister again makes these nights with Jaime that much more difficult to deal with.

Furrowing my brow at an alarming sight on the dancefloor, I quickly chug the rest of the beer and let its contents swirl down through my system before marching out towards Jaime. Some fucking pig and his buddies apparently have decided it'd be a good idea to try and grope an unsuspecting teenager, and even though Jaime's kind of annoyed as I quickly get her out of there, I try to explain things to her in terms that she'll actually understand.

"Just be thankful that I got you out of there when I did," I tell her as I hold the door open for her; huffing as she storms outside. "Jaime, those guys didn't want to dance with you. Quit being so naïve about it!"

"Oh yeah?" she retorts, her words starting to slur after I had bought her just a few drinks. She's always been a lightweight, which I'd probably consider to be a good thing at this point. "You're just jealous! I actually went out there and had fun, while you… you just sat there all night and did _nothing!_ Why… why do you have to be such an angry loner all the time?!"

"You're too young to get how these things go…" I say, muttering a profanity under my breath as Jaime simply charges on ahead, with me having to point her in the right direction as she abruptly yells at me to shut up.

I don't think she realizes just how much that loner comment really stings.

….

"So… when are you getting picked up?" I ask, breaking the awkward silence that's been looming between us over the past half hour as we head out of the elevator and walk towards my room. Thankfully, in such a short period of time, Jaime's seemingly forgotten in her buzzed state what it was she was mad at me for, but still she doesn't answer my question.

Puzzled, I turn my stern gaze towards her to try and get a straight answer out of her, but all I see is my little sister clutching her arm and staring down at her shoes.

"You didn't tell them you were coming to see me, did you?"

"I knew they'd just say no, anyways…"

"Jaime, come on…"

"I really wanted to see you again!" she pleads, practically begging me with her eyes not to call our parents even though I haven't heard from Mom or Dad in almost a year and a half now. "It's not fair that they won't let me come out here that often… You're my sister… they shouldn't be keeping us apart like that…"

Unable to supress the small grin that graces my lips, I sigh and open up the front door to my musty apartment; not even caring right now that the room is already starting to smell moldy and gross. I'm too tired to really pay attention to it – all that I want and need right now is the soft embrace of my bed.

I'm thinking that sleeping in tomorrow morning might just be a given.

"You can have the couch, then – I wasn't expecting visitors," I tell her as I open up the closet and pull out the closest thing I can find to a blanket and pillow with such short notice. "It's either that or the ground, so pick your poison. Either way, I'm heading to bed."

"Can't I just sleep with you?"

"What'd I just tell you?" I groan, glaring at the little moocher over here as she practically belly-flops onto my bed. "Off. Now. You're not five years old here – get going."

"But – "

" _Out_ , Jaime."

Pouting, she seemingly admits defeat as she slumps off the bed and heads for the exit. Feeling confident (if not slightly guilty) that my victory is ensured, I wait until she's out of sight before shutting the window closed and hopping into my own sleeping quarters.

It really shouldn't take me long to fall asleep tonight, not with the hell of a long day that I've had. I'm surprised that I don't get knocked out right away as soon as I close my eyes and my head hits the pillow.

But maybe that's because I feel the left side of the bed sag downwards slightly as Jaime tries to stealthily climb back in with me.

"God damn it…"

"It smells like sewage out in the hall," she remarks, playing the guilt trip on me as she knows that it was me who had made the rest of the place so uncomfortable in the first place. I suppose the least I can do is indulge her for the short time that she's going to be here, since she'll undoubtedly have to head back home to Virginia sometime tomorrow. What a fun conversation it's gonna be for her – I've got no doubt that she'll be grounded for at least two weeks for pulling this stunt.

I'm trying to make it seem like this is all bothering me more than it actually is, but when it really gets down to it… I'm actually glad that she came this weekend. Even though I was probably a total party pooper tonight at the club, it was still pretty cool to be able to see my baby sister again. I hadn't realized when I had first gotten kicked out just how much I'd miss her company, even though we drive each other bonkers.

"…Jane?" she whispers into the darkness, catching my attention briefly as I yawn.

"Hmm?"

Hearing nothing for a moment, I almost think that I had just imagined her calling my name, when she speaks again.

"Do you… do you think you can come back home with me? Please?"

This girl's gonna be the death of me with all of this guilt she's shoving inside. Damn… this is the kind of stuff that really hits me hard. I mean, how am I supposed to say this without breaking her heart again? Sometimes I forget that even though she's growing up way too quickly for my liking, deep down Jaime's still got the heart of a kid – so innocent and just… pure. It's almost as if we're yin and yang, Jaime and I. She's light, I'm dark. She's full of life, I'm cold and calculating. She trusts everyone she meets and never turns a blind eye to those she meets, and I'm much more wary of people unknown. How the two of us ended up as sisters with such stark personality differences is anyone's guess, but I suppose you could say that we kind of balance each other out. I really don't know where I'd be without Jaime in my life, at least partially.

Which is why it makes this confession so much harder for me to swallow.

"I…" I cut myself off, abruptly rolling over onto my side so that I'm facing away from the teen. "I don't think so, Jaime. I doubt that they'd even let me back if I asked."

"…you never know though, right?"

Breathing deeply out through my nose and slowly closing my eyes once again, I slowly shake my head even though it's too dark for her to see. "Just… get some rest, kiddo. We'll talk again in the morning."

I know that she's definitely deflated with that answer, but even though I can be brutally honest with people (which is partly one of the reasons that people often find me so unapproachable in the first place), I'm ninety-nine percent certain that that's what Jaime NEEDED to hear. I can't have her leaving this place with a false sense of hope about this – I won't let her feel that way.

Sometimes I even think that it might be better for her to just forget about me altogether, for her sake. No need to have a dropout like me dragging her down and forcing her to come all the way to fucking Washington DC just for a pop-in visit on a Saturday night. Jaime's got her own life to lead, and I don't want to get in the way of that.

But is it greedy of me to at least want a little part of her for myself? Is that too much of me to ask?

"Ok…" she remarks quietly, rustling the blanket as she too turns onto her side. "Goodnight, Jane."

"…yeah…" I awkwardly reply, not really having been used to such open affection in a very long time. It's still kind of weird to me – _foreign_ , even. I don't think my comfort zone's even come close to that yet, but hopefully, with time… that might be able to change one day.

Baby steps here, people. I know that I'm a work in progress.

…

 _AN: Hey there, guys! This is just a little side project I want to work on, just to get me out of this rut that I've been having. I'm not sure how long it's going to end up being, but I wanted to try and give some backstory to the whole Jane-Jaime sister thing, since we had never actually seen this in the game._

 _Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter here, and there are gonna be more to come! Also, just wanted to give a big thanks to Paradoxilla for giving me the much-needed advice on getting back in the writing game! Much appreciated, brother!_

 _Leafs Nation_


	2. Close encounter

You know, there should be a rule – an actual, legitimate law – against waking up too early, _especially_ if said person's been drinking the night before. Put in a curfew for actually getting out of bed instead of heading there… Maybe nine in the morning or something like that.

That's it! I'm calling it now! I hereby proclaim that sleeping in is a mandatory thing for all the world's citizens! Now everyone head back to bed…

…

…

…fuck. No dice this time.

Lightly groaning as I roll onto my side to check the clock, reading seven-thirty-four in the god damn morning, I admit defeat and scratch an itch out of my hair. Seriously? Why can't I sleep right now? I should be out like a baby right now after last night, and yet my brain refuses to cooperate. Even though it would be so easy just to slide back underneath the covers and just soak in all of the warmth coming towards me, somehow I end up just sliding off the mattress and turn to try and see my sister. Only, she's not in the bed now, either.

At least I know that she didn't just leave without saying goodbye. Her purse is still in the corner, and I know for a fact that she never goes anywhere without it.

Half expecting her to just jump out of the closet and surprise me, I chuckle at how paranoid I'm being and decide to head out into the kitchen. If she's not already there, then maybe I can scrounge together some breakfast for the two of us. Although a couple pieces of toast probably isn't gonna cut it between two people, it's at least better than starving.

Stepping out into the hallway as I push the door to the side, I tilt my head as I spot Jaime lingering alone out on the balcony; back slouched and arms resting on the safety bar as she peers over the city. But what's that smoke billowing out from one of her hands? Is… is my sister smoking?

"Jaime…" I sigh audibly, feeling disappointed and stupid at the same time for not having known about this before. Doesn't the kid realize that cigarettes will destroy her lungs one day? I have half a mind to just walk over there and knock the cancer stick out of her hands, but deep down I know that the girl wouldn't be out there without a good reason.

That's at least one thing that Jaime and I actually share in common – we both need our personal space every now and then. Only, the difference is that I generally need time to myself a lot more than she does, but I know better than to try and get anything out of her in this state. If Jaime wants to talk, she'll talk.

With her being unable to hear me anyways with the glass door shut, I head in the opposite direction and rub my face tiredly as I remember what I had neglected to do yesterday: mop the floor. There's only so much that paper towel can soak up before being completely useless, no matter what supposed brand you buy, so I waltz out into the main hallway and knock on one of the neighbours' door to see if I can borrow theirs. Ms. Young usually has something like that up her sleeve.

As I wait for a response on the other end, I can't help but notice that about three families as well as a gay couple and one of the old women who live some doors down from me have all got their stuff packed and are ready to head out somewhere. Most of them look really nervous, with some of them frantically calling on their cell phones while some of them are continuously checking down the stairwell for some strange reason.

When one of the kids notice me staring, they kindly wave to me with a faint smile as I half-heartedly wave back. What, did they all suddenly decide to vacation together? Why wasn't I invited?

But just like that, as I thank Ms. Young for the mop and bucket and watch as she closes the door, all of them, kids and elders alike, have vanished.

* * *

An hour and a half has passed, and I'm starting to get a little miffed. Jaime still hasn't come back inside yet, and aside from a few twitches of her shoulder blades and a brief turn of her head, she hasn't even moved from the spot that I first saw her in. Surely she should've come in by now, right? I mean, it's one thing to want a little bit of time to yourself, but it's another to completely isolate yourself from those you care about. That's _my_ thing, not Jaime's!

Having cleaned up the mess left in the bathroom (relatively speaking, of course), I'm about to venture over to see what the hell's gotten into her this morning, when all of a sudden I hear a quiet buzzing noise coming from the couch. Curious, as I had expected my sister to be carrying the plastic thing around with her wherever she'd go just like most teenagers I know, I do a double-take to make sure that she's still facing away from me as I head on over. Trapped underneath the blanket I had left for her is Jaime's cell phone; red dot flashing in the corner to signify a new text message.

Being the ever-concerned, trustworthy older sibling that I am, I sneakily flip the thing open and start to snoop around to see who'd be messaging her. Probably one of her high school friends, I'd bet. Her little circle from what I've heard tends to join with each other at the hip, if you know what I mean.

"Typical…" I mutter, glaring as the message is actually from Patricia, otherwise known as my mom. And if she's messaging Jaime about what I think it is, then our dad's sure to follow. Apparently a scolding and a slap on the wrist isn't as effective as when both parents get in on the action. It doesn't take long for me to get the gist of what she's saying.

My hunch was right before – Jaime definitely wasn't supposed to be out of town this weekend, and Mom's throwing a fit. _You get your little ass back here right now, Jaime!_ the text reads, with a few angry emoticon faces thrown in to try and persuade her somehow. By the tone of her voice, no doubt her daughter's gonna be grounded for the next week if not longer, which, although justified, still pisses me off something fierce. Maybe it's gotta do with the fact that I still hold some form of bitter resentment towards them even after years of being on my own, but knowing that they're pulling the same strict tactics on Jaime makes it even worse. She doesn't deserve that. She's the good kid in the family.

Without even thinking about it, I shoot her back an angry text saying how she's staying with me, and that the only reason she's getting pissed off is because Mom doesn't trust her enough to make her own decisions. Kind of selfish and obnoxious for me to send this on her behalf, but maybe something good will come out of it. Hey, you never know.

I shoot "send" on the screen just seconds before Jaime decides to reappear back in the apartment smelling like a chimney and drenched in sweat. The summer heat's cooked her from the inside out, but she doesn't notice me at first as I nonchalantly toss her phone back onto the couch where I found it.

"Took you long enough," I comment, nearly scaring her out of her own skin as she closes her eyes in defeat. "Why so jumpy there, kiddo? You look nervous about something."

"Uhh… nothing! Just…" she stutters, looking shakier than usual as I stare over at her curiously. Man… I don't think she should be _that_ jumpy about this, least of all with me. "…I think something's going on out there."

Huh?

"Wait, what?" I dumbly respond as I try to get us back on track. "What are you talking about? I was just trying to get you to talk about the cigarette thing."

"There've been cop cars driving around _everywhere_ , Jane. The whole city's been covered this morning. That's not normal."

"You do realize that the White House is in this city, right? Pretty sure that would make sense."

"Come here," she insists, grabbing onto my forearm as I shrug her off but reluctantly follow her nonetheless. Might as well put an end to the paranoia while I've got the chance. Walking out towards the balcony, I glance out towards the city skyline as Jaime joins at my side a second later. "See? Do you see it yet?" she asks, worriedly pointing out a few roads away from us as, sure enough, about four police cruisers are parked on the side of the busy city street.

Normally, I'd probably give her the benefit of the doubt and just play along; not really having the energy or the tolerance to argue since usually she'd just continue to bug me until I agreed with whatever crazy idea she would come up with. But not this time, though – not when it's something that's clearly upsetting her for some reason.

Shaking my head, I shrug it off as nothing and try to convince her to do the same. "You're getting all in a twist for nothing. I see those guys drive by every day," I tell her, frowning when that doesn't seem to calm her nerves. "It's not as if there weren't any police back home! Why are you acting like your dog just got flattened by an eighteen-wheeler or something?"

"I miss Mr. Snugglepuffs…" she reminisces for a brief moment before returning to the topic at hand. "But no, that's not it! Haven't you been watching the news at all?"

"That's usually the one thing I choose to ignore, so no."

Evidently she's getting frustrated with me, and I linger out on the balcony for just a little while longer as she heads back into my apartment with an annoyed huff. The hell is her problem this morning? What, is the hangover from last night's outing too much for her to handle this morning?

Feeling slightly annoyed with her myself as she won't just spit it out and tell me what's going on, I close the sliding glass door behind me after once again seeing nothing out of the ordinary going down in the bustling metropolis of downtown D.C. Traffic's jammed up the ass for a Sunday morning, but I don't really find that odd. That'll just give me an excuse to laugh at all the drivers as I end up walking past them on my way to work this afternoon.

And by afternoon, I mean in about an hour or so.

"There's something really weird going on, and it's happening in other places, too! LA, Texas, New York…" she lists off as I realize what she's on about.

"What, that stupid news broadcast last night?" I recall from our outing at the club. "You don't really buy that shit, do you? It's just a scare – probably a bad case of the flu that's going around. Don't worry about it, alright?"

"But – "

" _Don't."_

Jaime's as stubborn as they come when she really wants to be, rarely taking no for an answer and sometimes being prone to charging into things head-first instead of thinking through and planning ahead. Her passion and ambition, although they're traits that I can really admire about her, also have the tendency to blind her to what's really going on. There's no conspiracy theory coming true in this town – no monsters coming to snatch us away, no aliens, no terrorists or psychopaths coming to bang on our door and demand that we turn ourselves in. I wish that she'd just stop for a moment and figure that out for herself, because frankly I don't have the time or the patience right now to be talking down a panicked seventeen year old.

I want to derail this conversation entirely before it ends up turning into a shouting match, so I pat her on the shoulder and head over towards the bathroom. "Look alive, would ya? We're gonna head out for a bite to eat. There's a pretty decent diner not too far from here. My treat," I propose, hoping that the prospect of a nice, warm meal will be enough to win her over. By the look on her face, I can already tell that she could eat a horse right now. I'm just about to fix myself up when I hear a strange noise in the distance; a groaning sound coming from down the hall somewhere that stops us both in our tracks. "See? Flu," I mention, figuring that somebody's just throwing up and doing a really loud and over-exaggerated job of covering it up. "Pack your stuff up, 'cause you've gotta head back home right after breakfast," I tell her, shutting the door closed just as she's about to complain to me about it. I know that it sucks, seeing's how we really didn't spend a whole lot of time together this weekend, but there'll be other days for us to really sit down and catch up with each other's lives.

We could sit down for a game of poker or something like that next time – maybe Jaime actually _won't_ cheat at it like she always does… Somehow I always end up losing at least five bucks a match along with a piece of my pride and dignity every single time. I'm not just being a sore loser, really!

Making sure to bring the mop and bucket along with me so as to return it to Ms. Young, I casually stroll along with it and go to knock on the door once again, only for me to open it slowly after one little tap. _Exactly like those stupidly cheesy horror movies,_ I think with a chuckle, peering my head in and trying to get a glimpse of where the elderly woman might've scampered off to. It's not as if she can move around very well, not with her having to use a walker to move around the apartment complex.

"Linda?" I call out, using her first name for the first time in ages. It sounds so weird on my tongue when I call her by that, mostly because she looks as though she's two centuries older than me, but it doesn't really matter. I get no response anyways.

Puzzled, since she was just here a little while ago and normally doesn't go out on the weekends, I shrug and leave the mop near the front door. The old bat's probably just dying to clean something up with the thing… heh… as bad as it sounds, that's usually the most fun she'll have all day. I really need to stop taking advantage of her generosity one of these days – which, realistically, will probably be on the day that I move out of this place. I'm still shocked that she hasn't been transferred into a nursing home.

I'm about to head back and drag Jaime out so that we can get some grub, when all of a sudden I feel a damp, mucky sensation on the bottom of my foot. A dark, murky red splatter of blood decorates the floor in a puddle, and even though I'm thankfully not hurt, it still rattles me up a little bit. Is Ms. Young alright?

"Hello?" I yell out a little bit louder, checking her bathroom to try and see if she might've hit her head or something. Empty, just as I had thought it was before. And no signs of anything out of place in the apartment aside from the splotch and continuing dribbles leading out towards the stairwell down a little ways.

"I swear to god, Jaime… if this is some kind of a joke…" I mutter under my breath, cursing her for inadvertently starting to get me nervous about this after her confession to me but moments ago. I knew she was being genuine about feeling scared and all, but now this? Maybe it's all a little bit too much of a coincidence.

Walking as slowly as a turtle as I creep forward, I make sure that nobody else is following behind me before inching the door open. With just a creak, I cringe at how loud it ends up being as I can see a trail of blood much more clearly now than I could beforehand. That same groaning sound is getting louder now, only this time it also sounds like someone's… eating? How can someone try to eat and barf at the same time? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?

Although, with just a brief glance down the stairs, I nearly have to fight the urge to gag at the sight, smell and everything else about it as my eyes widen like saucers. It's not Ms. Young down there, but one of the kids – he couldn't have been even six or seven years old yet – he's… oh god, that smell…

Unable to stand in there any longer, I dash back to the exit and slam the door behind me, not caring if that… that _thing_ … can hear it or not. Its back was turned, but there was no denying that the thing eating that little boy was (or still is) a person. A fucking person! Did he have rabies? Was he some sort of sick-minded cannibalistic asshole?

"Jane?" Jaime asks me as I dart back into the room; palms sweating like crazy as I put my back up against the door. Just for good measure, I turn the lock and put some extra weight up against the frame just in case the guy decides to head up here next. "What's going on? Why are you all jittery?"

Temporary relief washes over me as I see Ms. Young sitting comfortably on the chair, apparently having heard my call earlier, but that can't remove that horrible image out of my mind. Ever. I've never been so disgusted and so utterly terrified in my entire life.

But even though fear's gripping me in a deadlock, speeding up my heart rate and pounding against my chest, I know now what I have to do; what my main goal has to be. Whatever's going on, none of that matters now. All I know is that Jaime is my number one priority, and somehow we're going to have to try and make a break for it out of this apartment. Possibly even out of this city, but at this rate the traffic will slow us down even if that worthless pile of shit won't. No wonder the cops were out in droves – just like Jaime had warned me about.

Have I ever mentioned that I hate being wrong?

"…you wouldn't believe…" I shudder violently, shaking my head and silently cursing Ms. Young for not being able to move very quickly. You know, as if that were actually her fault. "We can't stay here, it's not safe. The faster we go, the better off we'll be."

"Where are we going? Jane, you're not making any sense!"

"I know that, and I promise I'll tell you everything later! You have to trust me for now, alright?" I beg with pleading eyes, watching her face scrunch up in worry as Jaime gulps and nods; turning back towards the room and sprinting to no doubt grab onto her purse. I wonder if she ever got rid of that stupid nail file… always jabbed my fingers whenever I'd go rooting around inside. "Come on, over to the elevator," I hurry the three of us along, telling Linda to simply sit on her walker as I impatiently push her with us. I'm not so sure that I could stomach it if I just left her up on the floor to get attacked.

Incessantly dialing the button as the elevator slowly makes its way up to the third floor, I nearly freeze in place as, sure enough, down the hallway the creature appears. The fucking elevator can't come fast enough.

My mind's a bit buggy on what I'm seeing as it slowly starts to stumble towards us, so I'll try to be as clear and concise as I can. I only ever expected to see a fucker like this in stories; fiction that had stretched the boundaries of people's imagi… you know what? No. Fuck that. This goes even beyond what any sane person pictured what a creature like this would be. I never should've signed up to read those fucking zombie fanfictions online… What a mistake that was!

Well, at least I might have an inkling on what to do about it then. Hopefully all of my time reading those "world-ending scenarios" might actually pay off in this case. Let's get a look at what we're dealing with here.

This thing… well, it looks dead, for starters. Peeling, rotting skin that's making the guy look sick and deranged. Eyes are definitely a dull shade of yellow… no, wait… yellow and a little bit of milky white. Yeah, definitely that. Either way, though, it doesn't seem to be using its brain very effectively, since it's just trudging forward with reckless abandon. The blood of its victim is planted deeply onto his suit and tie, and the guy's mouth is practically hanging off by the hinges. Its ears have practically been torn off along with a massive chunk of his upper thigh, and it almost looks as though he himself got nabbed by something, too. This guy can't just be animatronic, right?

Judging by the rancid odour and ripped flesh, I'm guessing not.

"AHHH!" Jaime screeches upon seeing the monster for herself, but I quickly place my hand over her mouth and practically shove her and Linda into the elevator when the doors finally open. Frantically pressing the close button, the stupid thing won't close soon enough, as the dead guy, apparently moving more quickly and with more of a purpose after hearing my sister's screams. I fall straight to my ass when it reaches inside, but because this elevator is so old, the sensors don't really work properly, and so the guy's arm gets trapped as we venture downwards.

"Jaime, shut up!" I hiss insensitively, with my panic of getting grabbed by this monster outweighing my sympathy towards her feelings. A twinge of guilt erupts in my stomach as her eyes tear up from fright, but my attention immediately swings back to our friend over here as the last of his low growls are drowned out.

With the alarm blaring at us to get whatever's blocking our descent out of the way, Ms. Young nearly faints as a dead arm detaches from the guy's body and lands in her lap, soaking her with black ooze as she instantly slaps the limb onto the floor.

"…holy fucking shit…" I manage to say, not even bothering to remove Jaime's arms from my waist as she holds me even more tightly than when we were little kids growing up together. Because in truth, I don't want her to let go. She's one of the few exceptions to my "no-touch" rule, and admittedly she's giving me more comfort just by sticking close to me than I had thought she would.

Heading out of the apartment proves to be even crazier, however, but not in the way that I had expected. With all three of us too stunned to speak of what we just witnessed, we watch as the downtown core continues to function as if absolutely nothing is going wrong. People stroll down the sidewalk, either talking on their cell phones, chatting with friends, hurrying along to their next appointment or just casually walking out for a nice, summer promenade. None of them even have a clue.

I hear Jaime's terrified squeals behind me as I force the three of us to get as far away from the apartment as physically possible. What in the hell is going on around here?

* * *

"What… was that?" Linda finally breaks the ever-growing silence between us, after having continually speed-walked for at least half an hour down past a bunch of the historical landmarks. I don't think Honest Abe over there is gonna be much help to me right now.

Neither Jaime nor I know how to answer that question, so we simply keep moving forward and push our way through the crowd. Judging by the faces on some of the patrons we've passed, I reckon that slowly but surely, Washington isn't going to be in the dark about this for much longer.

Still though, besides the one we saw back in my apartment and a couple digging through a dumpster way back on one of the dead-end back alleys, it's been relatively dead-free for the past little while. My nerves are still shot, though, and it wouldn't be a far cry to say that Jaime's and Linda's are now, too. I'll admit: out of all the things that could've happened today, the last thing on my list would've been my parents just randomly coming up to me on the street, giving me a hug and apologizing for kicking me out and sending me on my own into this cruel, terrible world.

This "walker", as somebody claimed it as, wasn't even on my list. It wouldn't have even registered in my brain.

"Nothing human, that's for sure," I decide to indulge her, knowing that keeping the woman in the dark and shutting her out wouldn't be right or fair. "Or… maybe it _used_ to be a person, but it looked almost like it was hungry or something."

"For us?" Jaime meekly pipes in, sounding a lot like the sister I knew back when she'd run over to me during rainstorms, begging me to make the thunder stop even though I was always powerless to do anything about it. Suddenly, it actually kind of feels like the same thing.

"…do either of you have a cell phone handy?" I ask, dodging Jaime's question entirely as I accidentally trip a young man while walking closer towards the Jefferson Memorial. I knew Linda wouldn't have one with her, but unfortunately, probably from my lack of insight, Jaime had left hers on the couch, and there's no way I'm going back in there to retrieve it. "Looks like we're on our own for now, then," I shrug with a sigh, jogging up to the street and holding my right arm in the air. "Keep an eye out – if you see anything weird, tell me. I'm gonna try to hail a cab."

"What good's a fucking taxi gonna do, Jane?"

"Would you rather we just sit around here and do nothing then, huh?! Or would you rather we head back home?!" I snap back at my sister, not in the mood for this sudden change in attitude. "Look, I get that you're scared, alright? But bitching and complaining about it isn't going to help!"

Glaring at me with frightening hostility, Jaime doesn't say anything else before turning her back on me and giving me the cold shoulder. Damn it! Damn it all! I'm trying to come up with a solution, and _now_ is the time she decides to act like a little spoiled princess?!

…great. Now I'm doing it, too. Just what we need – the two of us acting immaturely instead of just taking it slow and levelling our heads out. I'm too stubborn to head over towards her and apologize for freaking her out, but I highly doubt that she'll want to talk to me right now in a calm way anyways.

My head is filled to the brim with questions, mostly related around what the hell we're going to do if this isn't just a minimal-casualty sort of thing. This is big – no, scratch that. It's fucking HUGE, and I honestly don't know if I'm ready for the utter chaos that's going to come with it. I mean, that walker had lost its arm – a part of its body, for Christ's sake – and I could still hear it moaning as if absolutely nothing happened to it. I don't even want to think about what could've happened if we didn't get out of there in time. Would we have ended up just like that kid in the stairwell?

"Hopefully the next time you walk over to borrow something from me it'll be under some better circumstances," Linda teases lightly as I grin and continue to try and flag one of the cab drivers down. It really shouldn't be this hard for a Sunday morning, especially in a particularly tourist-y area like this. "So where do you kids plan on going after this?"

"Aren't you coming with?"

"Nah. My sons both live in Kentucky with my grandkids, so I'll most likely try to catch the next bus that heads out west. Either that or hitchhike, I suppose," she tells me as I immediately tell her that trying to hitch a ride with a group of strangers would be a bad idea. "Now, now, Jane, I know it's not ideal. But you don't need to worry that pretty little head of yours about me. You've got enough on your plate as it is," she reminds me, apparently catching me gazing over at my sister, who's reading one of the tourist signs for the Jefferson Memorial not too far away from where we're standing. "Keep her close, Jane. I know it's none of my business, but we don't know yet where all of this is gonna go. Better to stay cautious about it."

God, Linda, I could kiss you right now. For once, instead of offering to send me over some home-baked snacks or asking if I'd mind helping her bring one of her suitcases down to the main floor of our shared apartment building, she's actually giving me some much-needed advice. A lot of people wouldn't be able to do the same, I don't think. Many would try to force their opinions down my throat, but Ms. Young actually notices things about me. She pays attention, she _cares_.

Steadily lowering my gaze to the sidewalk in contemplation, I instead decide to ask her about something that was bugging me back when we were trapped upstairs. "There was a pool of blood on your carpet back there… You didn't hurt yourself or anything, did you?"

"Not to my knowledge," she shakes her head sadly, regaling me about what had probably went down. "There was a little boy who came knocking on my door earlier – had a deep gash in his forehead from something or other. Figured that he'd just gotten separated from his parents. I was about to grab him some bandages, but when I came back to give them to him, the little rascal disappeared," she mentions in confusion, and I don't have the heart right now to tell her what had ended up becoming of the kid as I simply nod in confirmation. My face must be giving it away though, because she then stifles back a gasp and places her hand over her mouth.

Sighing, I turn away and continue to try and get one of the taxi drivers to notice us down here; thinking about anything and everything other than the walkers. Boy oh boy, is my boss gonna be pissed for me not showing up today… Not sure yet if he'll deduct my pay again, but that's really the least of my priorities. The bank can just fuck off for all I care – they can go one day without a receptionist, I'm pretty sure.

"Looks like our ride's here," I mention, whistling for Jaime to come back to us as I take a look back at Linda one last time to see if she'll change her mind. "You're sure you don't want to come with us?" I probe, not at all convinced that leaving her alone like this is a good idea.

However, ultimately it's her decision, and as she reassures me that she'll be alright, I throw her an appreciative nod and step into the back of the taxi with Jaime in tow. My sister seems more anxious than upset at this point, most likely because even I don't really know where we should end up going right now. I guess we could try to find a motel on the outskirts of the city for a couple of days, but that's not really a long-term solution. And unless things suddenly blow over and the government steps in to take care of the walkers, I don't see myself returning to the apartment anytime soon.

So… that's it then. As of right now, I'm kind of homeless. Again.

"So," the driver, a forty-something year old Mexican man with a trimmed beard and bald head, says to us in a thick accent, "where can I take you both today?"

"Got any ideas? Because I'm thinking that breakfast is gonna have to be put on hold," I tease, eliciting a small smile out of Jaime before losing her yet again as she stares down into her lap.

"…I just wanna go home, Jane…"

Well, shit. I knew it was coming, that that's what she would've wanted to happen, but I was kind of holding out on the hope that I wouldn't have to go back to the house ever again. There's nothing really left for me there – only memories of sneaking off after dark and trying to explain myself to a pair of disgruntled parents who didn't want to put up with my shit anymore. It's not really a home for me anymore. Just four walls and a roof over your head.

But… I guess that sort of beats standing out in the middle of nowhere.

"Alright," I relent, making sure to try and voice my displeasure with this even though Jaime barely seems to notice. "Can you take us to Richmond?"

"Virginia? Are you for real? Look, I don't have anything against the two of you, but I'm just a fallback guy. My cousin needed a driver for the weekend just to get people around the city – Richmond's like a three to four hour drive from here!"

"Can you get us there or not?" I ask, holding one hand on the door handle in aggravation. This guy's starting to annoy me with his excuses, and we've barely just stepped into the car.

The man's about to respond to me with a sigh, when all of a sudden we hear a whole stampede of horrified screams and yells. Turning my head, I see dozens upon dozens of people just running for their lives; tripping over garbage cans and shoving each other out of the way as an entire group of walkers stumbles their way towards them. Some of them have already started feasting on the flesh of the living, and I desperately try to shake the driver out of his shock in order to get us out of here.

Jaime roughly taps me on the arm as she points out to a scared Ms. Young, who, in the mad rush of people escaping, had been shoved to the ground right beside a dead woman with most of her insides torn out like wrapping paper. "We have to help her!" Jaime insists, trying to unlock the door only to realize in horror that the driver has manually locked us all inside. "Let us out, you idiot! She's in trouble! We have to get her back up!"

"We go out there and we're all gonna die! I'm not putting my life on the line for some woman I've never even met!"

"How can you be so heartless?!" Jaime smacks the back of his head, turning to me as I stare blankly over at the frantic Ms. Young. "Jane, we need to get to her! Please, she's your neighbour, for crying out loud!"

All while the two of them have been bickering back and forth, I've been paralyzed to the spot as I've witnessed what's been going on outside. The walkers have mostly been busy chowing down on the stragglers that weren't lucky enough to get away, but the dead woman beside Linda… her arms twitched, and her eyelids had slowly fluttered open again. I can't even put it into words right now, it's just unbelievable.

Slowly, the figure stands up for the first time, almost walking like a baby giraffe with how wobbly its legs are. As if it's been starving for most of its adult life, the decrepit woman casts her glazed eyes over at Linda, who just seems to have noticed the walker now only a few feet away from her.

"…step on it."

"What?! Jane, what the fuck?!"

"Just go! Get us to Richmond and I swear to you I'll pay with every dollar I've got!" I promise the driver, tossing all of my cash onto the front seat for good measure.

Linda, seeing us still sitting in the taxi and not bothering to help her out, cries out in desperation as her eyes, full of hurt and betrayal, cast a glance over at me. I can't look at her without feeling incredibly guilty, but I do manage to see her right as the walker falls on top of the defenseless elder. There's no chance in hell of her making it out of this.

Linda can't even let out a scream as the walker digs in and rips her throat out completely; blood profusely spraying out of her skin as chunks of flesh hit the concrete below her. Linda Young dies almost instantly as the undead monster clamps its fingers into her stomach next and begins to tear her apart.

Against her will, I force Jaime to look away as I hold her tightly against my chest; making sure to keep her head away from the grizzly scene as I ignore her furious, flailing fists that strike and lash out at me. Her voice is muffled in my jacket, but there's no mistaking the screams of "I hate you!" and "You let her die! You fucking let her die!"

I kick the cab driver roughly on the elbow as he finally speeds away, bowling over a couple of teenage boys as they hit the pavement in agony. Out the back mirror I see what's becoming of the city, and know now for certain that it's all going straight to hell.

"I'm sorry, Jaime…" I mumble, rubbing her hair as she bawls into my shirt. "I'm so sorry…"


	3. Home on the road

" _This an emergency broadcast to all residents and citizens of the metropolitan D.C. area. Please note that this is not a drill, and should be taken with your immediate attention,"_ says the radio announcer, obviously hired by some high-up government big shot to tell all of us what we already know. _"The city of Washington, as of this very moment, will be undergoing a temporary lock-down state. This is a matter of national urgency, and please, for your own protection, do NOT go outside. Stay in your homes or offices, lock your doors and turn off the lights. The United States Armed Forces will be brought in shortly to take care of any viable threats, so do not be alarmed if you happen to spot some of our men and women in uniform out there patrolling the streets. As stated previously, this will only be temporary."_

I hear the taxi driver, whose name we found out is Juan, snort slightly in the front seat at that. Even he can see how this is gonna go down – it'll be much longer than a one or two day struggle out here. I'd like to see them try to take on this problem themselves…

It would definitely make things a little easier if they were to get rid of one or two of them though, at least.

Seeing that we're about to enter a major traffic jam while everyone at the same time tries to make a beeline for the nearest exit, I absentmindedly rub my thumb over Jaime's hand. My little sister had passed out over an hour ago now, probably from all of the mortal terror and adrenaline pumping through her veins from earlier this morning. Can't say I blame the poor kid, not after the way I acted. That… that wasn't _me_. I mean, yeah, I was the one who told Juan to book it before we had gotten nabbed, too, but I felt almost as if I had lost a piece of myself back there. As if my humanity had just started to slowly chip away.

I can't say that I knew Linda exceedingly well – normally, it'd mostly just be a passing glance and a "good morning" whenever our paths would cross each day. There wasn't anything in particular that was tying me to the woman other than our shared building, and even that would've ended eventually. With the recent pay cuts that everyone in my department recently had to endure, there would've been a good chance that I wouldn't have been able to pay the rent by the end of the month. And yet, I'm still feeling ill over the atrocity I had just committed… Leaving her out there? To die, Jane? Really? That's not who I am – I don't give up that easily, on others or myself. Linda had looked so scared, too. I could see it in her eyes, mostly. She needed more than just a simple pick-up after that walker had crawled on top of her. She needed support, and someone to be there to have her back when she needed it most.

I didn't give that to her. I couldn't, because there was somebody else in this car who needed it more. And right now, she's the most important thing I have left.

Jaime's probably still plenty pissed at me though, if the fresh bruises on my collarbone are any indication. She hadn't hesitated in swiping at me with her fists and yelling at me in all kinds of colourful language, half of which I hadn't even heard of before.

Stirring slightly against my side, I watch as Jaime's face contorts painfully – probably locked into a nightmare that she can't escape from. I wish that I hadn't been so nasty with her earlier, and that I could actually… well, _talk_ to her, instead of just bottling everything inside of me. But it's not that easy for me to do, and that's saying something since Jaime's probably the person that I open up to _the most_.

What would I even say though? Sorry that people are dying left and right without any immediate hope for a solution? As if that would really cut it… The girl can certainly hold a grudge, that much is for certain. And I more than expect to be getting flatly stone-walled over the next few days, assuming that we can somehow find a way back to Virginia.

Back to the house… great. That might be even worse than what's going on outside right now. Facing my parents again is the one thing that I swore to myself I would _never_ do. I didn't want to give them any sort of satisfaction to having me crawl back and beg for forgiveness. They knew I was struggling after I left, and although I can't say that they weren't at least worried about me, I still find myself bitter and resentful. It's also one of my biggest regrets.

"Come on you bastards, move!" Juan curses under his breath, sighing as he honks the horn once. Nothing changes, obviously, but he does manage to annoy some of the other drivers that we're waiting side by side with. "Christ… Looks like everyone else had the same idea."

Making sure not to disturb Jaime's rest, I carefully lean her head against the door as I shuffle my head up in between the front seats. "How much further, do you think?" I ask inquisitively, not exactly _wanting_ to get out of the car yet but really wanting to get out of these crowded areas. There's too much that can go wrong in places like this. Now would be a horribly bad time to be claustrophobic.

Glancing at the rear-view mirror pensively, Juan checks his blind spots before banking a left and changing lanes. "Well at this rate we'll be there next week at the earliest," he remarks spitefully, his accent drawling out the sarcasm even more than usual as I give him a deadpan look. "Realistically though? I can't say for certain. This traffic isn't budging at all," he continues, smacking the radio a few times until it goes back to the non-static channel he was searching for. "Honestly, I wouldn't recommend trying to pound through it any further. It'll waste the gas and we'll barely get any miles out of it."

"You're the cab driver. You're supposed to be the one taking us to where I paid you to go," I remind him irritably, not wanting the guy to start having second thoughts already. We don't have time for this.

Shaking his head, Juan proposes an alternative to doing what he's obligated to do. Asshole. "My cousin, Manny, owns the taxi company, and the building's not too far from here. Just a hop, skip and a jump from the main street, actually. Let me take you there, instead."

"No."

"You haven't even heard me out yet."

" _Richmond_ , Juan. Richmond, Virginia."

"I'm afraid that I have to insist," he ignores my firm statements, pulling over to the side until he charges the taxi down a back alley without a word of warning to either of us. I fly around in the back seat as he drives like a maniac, and Jaime promptly wakes up once again as she tries to figure out what's going on.

Damn that motherfucker! Even if this isn't his normal job, I still paid him every last cent that I had so that he'd take us where we need to go. And now he's _bailing?!_ Are you fucking kidding me?! I don't think so! There's no way that I'm letting Juan kidnap us and take my sister and I to some run-down shithole just so he can feed us to the walkers!

But Jaime must've smacked me around harder than I had anticipated, because in my rush I hadn't decided to wear a seatbelt, and thus I'm flown around the back of the cab until I hit the side of the door. The pain on my shoulder and my collarbone is _agonizing_ , but thankfully I don't think anything's broken right now.

"Just trust me, guys," he says from the front seat, making me want to strangle him with the necklace he's got hanging off of him as he picks up some more speed. "Consider this as my service to the both of you – we'll be safe there, I know it."

* * *

"…Jane?" Jaime finally speaks up, distracting me from plotting my revenge upon Juan as he starts to slow down. Looks as though we're approaching our destination. "What's going on? Where are we going?"

Frowning, I purposely kick Juan's seat as hard as I can to make sure he knows how annoyed I am with him right now. "Ask Mr. Leadfoot up here," I mutter, shaking my head before glancing over at her again. "Apparently it's going to take a lot longer to get… _home_ …" I shudder, almost as if the word itself is poison on my tongue, "…than we thought."

"What? We can't stay here!" she insists, voicing my own thoughts exactly as Juan pulls up to a rather large building overlooking a row of convenience stores on the other side of the street. "Manny's Taxi Comp." is plastered haphazardly on a sign out front, although it looks as though it's been covered up several times and the paint's already starting to peel off.

There's barely anybody in sight, save for a few stragglers obviously rushing home down the sidewalk after having heard the radio announcement from the feds earlier. I honestly wonder sometimes if they actually try to help out anyone, or just decide to pitch in at the last moment just to make themselves look better for the polls. I wouldn't put it past them, really. People do that all the time, so why would today be any different?

" _As a reminder, please, for your own safety and the security of your loved ones, we encourage all D.C. residents to – "_

" _Chingate_ ," Juan speaks in his native language, switching the volume off entirely as he pulls into the lot. Once he switches off the ignition, I clench my fists and protectively scoot over closer to Jaime just in case. Failing to notice this, Juan simply unbuckles his seatbelt and turns around to address us. "Just sit tight for now, okay? I'm going to check inside and arrange things with Manny, and then you two can come on inside. Just… be mindful of what you say around him, alright? He gets a little uneasy – _especially_ around newcomers," he pleads as I make a point of it to intentionally piss this Manny person off. You know, as payback for taking us somewhere against our will.

"All the more reason to leave then."

"Just give it a chance. I know that I haven't been the most straight-up with you so far… but times are tough out there," he says to me, even though I can't really tell if he's being sincere or not. This could all be a cloud of bullshit for all we know.

With that, Juan gingerly places the keys in his pocket and hops out of the driver's seat. He hustles over towards some sort of garage door close to the entrance of the crumbling ruin of a taxi company, and takes one look back towards us before banging his fist against the metal entryway.

"That slithering son of a bitch…" I murmur, loud enough for Jaime to hear as she glances over at me. Catching her eye, I slide up into the front seat in order to have a better look at what we're dealing with here, but also because the moron forgot to unlock either of the back doors. Jaime occupies the seat next to me as I clutch the steering wheel tightly in my hands. "If he had just left the keys in the ignition, we could've just taken off and left him with his cousin… if he even _has one_ , that is."

"Mhm."

Noticing that she's a lot less chatty than usual, I decide not to bring up any unpleasantness right now and just savour the moment between us. Even though we're basically at the mercy of whatever Juan's cooking up there, left abandoned and alone in the taxi with no real friends out here looking out for us, I'm glad that Jaime's still somewhat keeping it together. I was afraid that with all of the startled screaming and crying that she was doing, we'd both end up attracting far too much attention from the undead as they prowled the panicked roads, but I think she's finally starting to come to terms with everything.

Unlike me, who's feeling just about ready to topple over, sit in the corner and slowly rock back and forth from everything that's going on. I may play it cool and collected on the outside, but inside? Not so much. I'm just as afraid as Jaime, but not to the point that I'm going to freeze up and let one of those things attack either of us. More so that I'm afraid of what's to come – between running away and hiding, I haven't exactly had a whole lot of time to plan things out over the long term.

As of right now, Jaime and I are completely defenseless in a world that's been toppled upside down. I need a weapon first and foremost, preferably something durable. Garbage can lids, fallen bricks and wooden sticks are only going to get you so far, after all, and I don't really see an abundance of those lying around.

Then there's the matter of what to do if this does end up getting worse than just the city going down. I'm not sure how to prepare Jaime for the possibility of our parents… fuck, I don't even know if she'll _let me_ prepare her for something like that. I don't want it to be true either, but what if they aren't at the house at all? Maybe they already got evacuated, I don't know. There are a billion things that could've happened with Mom and Dad by now.

Suddenly getting a thought sparked inside of my head, I mention for Jaime to grab her purse from the back seat. "Still have that nail file in there?"

"Yeah… why?"

"Just make sure to keep it somewhere safe. It could prove pretty useful," I explain, watching as she yanks the sharp object out and holds it in her hands. Maybe I won't have to keep jabbing my fingers now if I ever have to dig back in there. "Might be handy in a pinch – you know, start a fire, cut things open, defend yourself…"

Widening her eyes in alarm, Jaime throws the nail file onto the dash of the cab as if it was just on fire. "D-defend myself? You think I'd have to…?"

"Jaime," I cut in seriously, realizing that it's high time I have this talk as I firmly place both of my hands on her shoulders. The bruises are still aching a little bit, but I only flinch for a second or two. "You've seen them out there. The walkers. If we ever get separated, we're going to have to be able to fight."

"What's gotten into you?" she asks me with a puzzled grimace. "You're acting as if this is the end… Like things aren't going to go back to normal. What if that radio host was right? What if the military can take care of it?"

Secretly grateful that she at least hasn't given up hope yet, I sigh slightly and lower my hands to the side. "We still don't know for sure," I point out, watching as her disposition changes a little bit. "Look, all I'm saying is that you and I have to stick this out together. And that means we have to be ready for anything out there that might try to hurt us. Are you following me?"

"…I guess…"

Knowing that that's the only verbal reassurance I'm going to get, I nod and turn back in my seat. It's not much, but it'll have to do for now. At least Jaime's sort of on board with what I'm telling her, even though the thought of handling a weapon probably isn't sitting well with her. I don't very much like the idea of her having a gun around either, considering how – and I love her when I say this – she can be a bit of a scatterbrain at times. One careless move and she could end up blowing a whole right through her leg. Or even worse – ME.

Time will tell I suppose if she's up to the task. In the meantime, I'll make a point of it to try and learn alongside her.

"Looks like he wants us to follow," I say wearily as Juan waves a hand for the two of us to come over. "Hmph… I still say we should cut our losses and hit the road again. This guy's been nothing but trouble since we've met him."

"He got us away from the walkers, didn't he? We would've been screwed if he hadn't come along," she argues, surprising me as I thought for sure that she'd be with me on this one. "He did say the place was safe… Maybe we should stay here – just for the night," she makes sure to add at the end there, obviously still counting on her original idea of getting back to Richmond. And as much as I hate to admit it, I'm kind of starting to see the reasoning behind staying put for a day or two. Maybe after a meal (if they're even willing to share some of their food) and a good night's sleep, we'll be able to wear off the troubling day we've had, and allow some time for things to settle down a little bit out there.

Ruffling her hair up a little bit, which I know for a fact she finds irritating, I hesitantly unlock the doors and take in a whiff of the fresh air once again. "Forever an optimist, huh?" I remark, chuckling lightly as Jaime rolls her eyes at that.

"Not if you keep messing my hair up, I won't."

"Hey, a big sister's gotta have _some_ fun, right?"

"Whatever, Jane…" she bitterly mumbles, proving once and for all that I'm definitely still in the doghouse with her. She walks forward with her head hung low and her hands in her pockets as I watch her totter off towards the warehouse. It's a little disheartening to see her so down in the dumps, but hopefully with a little TLC, she'll come around.

For now, though, maybe it'd be best if I gave her some space. Once we actually know that we're safe, at least.

Juan's standing at the garage looking like a goofball, almost as if he's just gotten locked out of his own house in the middle of a winter storm. He's been at it for almost ten minutes now, I'm pretty sure, but it doesn't really look like he's gotten anywhere.

Why the hell did he bring us out here then? Did he just want some company while he waited for his imaginary friends to open the door? I really can't tell what this guy's deal is. First, he pretty much refuses to take us anywhere on account of the walkers. Then, after paying the guy, he agrees and heads off. Then all of a sudden, back to not wanting to move. And now this? If he's on any mood-changing drugs right now… fuck, I'd appreciate it if he'd pass the bottle around. I think that I need something to get me out of this funk right now.

Clicking his tongue with a slightly impatient scowl on his lips, Juan wracks his knuckles once again on the door in search of an answer on the other side. "I'm telling you, they're in there somewhere," he insists, probably knowing that I'm glaring a giant hole in the back of his head as he takes a few steps back.

Sourly I fold my arms across my sternum and tap my foot impatiently, like a scolding mother giving her children a harsh lesson in disobedience. "This is your idea of a safe place? It's a warehouse! And those windows on the ground floor don't exactly look secure, either!" I point out, drawing their attention towards a little display area a few dozen feet away from us. A dark orange taxi sits idly on a large platform, with a human-sized mannequin holding up his arm as if to wave at us with a permanent smile on his face. Creepy.

Shaking his head and brushing me off, Juan knocks on the door again as we finally start to hear some footsteps coming from the other side. "Those things are stupid – there's no way they'd know how to walk through a doorway, much less break through a window. The place is built solid. No way anything's getting in without us knowing about it," he persists, not boosting my confidence in this as we're partially greeted by a tall, lanky fellow sporting a cheap, worn-out suit and an old fedora with a feather nestled on the side. He looks as though he could've travelled through time from the sixties, and even Jaime is having a tough time controlling her giggles as she raises a hand to cover her mouth.

Raising an eyebrow curiously, Manny (or whoever this guy really is) leans against the door after taking a second to look my sister and I over. The interest is short-lived as he leers over at his cousin. "The hell are you doing here, Juan? You're not due back at the warehouse for a few hours still!"

Leaning back on his heels a little bit, Juan gulps and places both of his hands behind his back in a fidgety way. Already I can tell that our little taxi driver is either pretty intimidated by his cousin, or he's just a little chicken shit.

I'm leaning more towards the latter.

"I wouldn't have come unless it was super important…"

"Well, let's hear it then! Don't tell me you pissed off the customers again! I don't think I can handle another one of your screw-ups today!"

Wait, _another one?_ So this isn't the first time he's done something like this? Well, that's _real_ reassuring. We just went for a ride-along with a lunatic! The greasiness of his slicked-back, chestnut brown hair and sketchy-looking eyes probably should've been a dead giveaway. Just one more check off of the "we need to get the fuck outta here" petition.

However, ticked off as I am, I remain silent for the time being as Juan tries to explain himself.

"Look, Manny," he starts off, placing a hand upon his cousin's shoulder that's immediately shrugged off, "it's going batshit crazy out there. It's absolutely nuts, and it ain't safe to be wandering the streets. You've gotta let us in, just to lay low for a little while. A week or two at the – "

" _Two days_ ," I cut in swiftly, hearing a sigh escape Juan's lips as he reluctantly nods his head. If it wasn't obvious before that he didn't want to go back out there, then it sure as hell is now.

Manny, looking at his relative as if he's just grown a third eye or something, chuckles before shaking his head and roughly smacking him on the shoulder. "I told you to lay off the crack, man! That shit's making you see things!" he jokes lamely. "Now quit dicking around, alright? Take these ladies where they need to go and get back in your car. I'm not running a circus over here, and I'm not paying you to slack off. Besides, you've gotta be available for the peach festival this afternoon, and I want my drivers to be _sober_ by that point in the day at least."

This is rich. This is exceedingly rich, but also a little disturbing. Does he seriously have no idea what's going on right now?

"When's the last time that you came out of your office today?" I question, wondering to myself why I'm even bother trying to talk to this guy as he flashes me a half-assed smile.

"I'm sure that Juan can help you with all your concerns, ma'am. Gustavo Taxi Services is always available to help you out," he brushes me aside, sounding more like an automatic calling machine than an actual human as he turns his attention back to Juan. That tone of voice he's using is _really_ getting on my nerves right now, too. "Well? What are you still standing around here for? Go! Get them to their destination!"

Jaime and I glance over at Juan, silently asking if he's serious right now, and he closes his eyes for a brief second before insisting that the two of us just come inside to talk. However, as soon as he tries to do so, Manny firmly places an arm across the doorway and shakes his head, prohibiting us from coming onto his "property".

This is going great so far, don't you think?

"I'm not making this up, Manny! You have to let us in! Turn on the damn radio and they'll tell you the same thing! Hell, just take a walk down the block and you'll piss your pants after you see them!"

"See what? Jesus Christ, I give you a job out of the kindness of my heart, and _this_ is how you repay me? I thought you wanted to turn things around for yourself after you came to this country!"

"Please, cousin… you have to listen to me, _right now_ ," he insists, begrudgingly catching Manny's attention as Juan tries a different approach. "Look, just… I'll try to explain everything as well as I can, but these two – Jane and Jaime – you have to let them spend the night. They don't have anywhere else to go right now, and just need a couple of days to get back on their feet. Please?"

I think Jaime must be giving him the puppy dog face, because despite glowering slightly as he looks at me, Manny's gaze softens just a little bit after glancing over at her. I'm not about to give him the satisfaction of a warm greeting for one reason, and one reason only – I don't trust these guys. Either of them really, come to think of it, although I do appreciate Juan pleading our case a little bit. However, it shouldn't have even come to this, begging to be let inside. We could've been halfway home by now if Juan hadn't dipped, and we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

Breathing out sharply through his nose, Manny lowers his guard a little bit as Jaime smiles in appreciation. "Two days," he reaffirms, stepping outside with his cousin as he allows my sister and I to wander inside. "Ask some of my other employees inside if you need help, but there's an old cot on the second floor to sleep on. Don't touch anything once you're in there, you got it?"

"Sure," I agree just to get him off our case, giving a cautious look over to Jaime as she looks over to me for approval. Shrugging my shoulders, I walk with her inside just before catching a little bit of what Manny's going on about now.

" _The fuck do you mean "walkers"? Are you off your meds again, Juan? I swear to god, if you're hallucinating out on the job…"_

I can't believe I'm saying this now… but I think I want to go home.


End file.
